Opinion: Crisis Talks for Student Loans

This transcript has been automatically generated and may not be 100% accurate.

... I ... welcome back to Opinion Journal I'm Mary Kissel ... interest rates on some federally subsidized student loans when up this week and politicians inside the Beltway are bracing for a fix ... is there a copper mines in the works Potomac watch columnist Kim straw soul joins now from Washington can ... I it's ... like there's this what's going on between what the White House wants and what Senate Democrats want SEC road ... this is the fascinating part of this story and this and why Mary and me and that do not have a deal yet on this issue ... what happened here is that the White House someone in their Treasury Department actually decided to do a little bit of math not long ago ... and work out that as the government's cost of borrowing began to go up in interest rates go up ... given that the government is now the originator of ninety percent of student loans and they had ... targeted pay to load slows down three point four percent ... think that there are going to be on the hook for a lot of potentially a lot of money these cars for Benetton very night ... so they decided to look for the new proposal that would pay these rates more to the market ... now interest only that happens to be what a lot of Republicans want ... this as isolated the number of Senate Democrats in particular who had been insisting ... instead these rates remain at three point four percent chance the big switch from what the president promised on the campaign trail ... it is a one hundred and eighteen area when ... he ... I've that made you know this was one of them the mainstays of the president's campaign the one at all these colleges and universities and ... spoken in front of that young audiences saying I'm here I'm the guy has any keep your interest rates low for student loans in that bag I may run he once they know he wanted the same for you ... now again somebody events that led to the facts and figures and decided to do with this and be content top and costly and so he is moving more toward the Republican field ... the pics of him looking toward the Republican position then why threatened to veto ... the House bill meanwhile Republicans proposed ... E-mail in me and I think this was to things and then there was a small aspect of the House bill that the with the White House is making a big deal and ... I had to do with whether or not loans once they were paid in the market is it that ... that the rate that a student of the doubt that would last the entirety of the law nor would flow from year to year the Republicans won the latter the White House wanted ... the former ... I'm so but mostly I think the White House this didn't necessarily want to roll over that usually given that they've moved toward the GOP position in the summer wanted to put ... Republicans in the proper spot here they could then have to really work out because most of the focus than on the fact that ... those really opposing the president's plan to ban members of his own party ... well ... I finished yet compromise with the other side and it ... could be a valid deal horrible ... but it is their movement are now and toward a copper mines ... adding in areas that has what you're seeing now is that those of his appeal a hairy green ... ElizabethWarren actually wanted you intend to pay these rates down to below one percent ... I which is defy reality ... at bay what you see is a lot of the the Fed is slowly getting rowdy Bible the white at the end of ... the GOP House you've now got in the Senate a coalition of Republican and Democratic senators that have come out when the bill that would indeed paid at some of these rates more to the market ... I they would lock them didn't warrant it the way the White House wanted that seems to be getting the moment and we may have a big deal on this next week when everyone gets back into the ... gym and got about thirty seconds left is any of this can it be enough to solve this ... too big to fail student loan from versus just a temporary fix ... now and email although it isn't as saying that marry the one thing that has driven the White House due to lightning move a little bit more toward market rates is the fact that the government and right then and now ... the originator of ninety percent of student loans ... they don't have a price that market that they can squeeze any more so than having to take more responsibility than it does indeed lead the taxpayer a huge risk Lisa tax there's a sheet risk it's a team in rehearing over and over age and ... Potomac watch columnist Kim straw soul thank so much for being on show ...